


The Alien's out of the Pod.

by caitlesshea



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Confessions, Love, M/M, Pods, threat level red
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 05:06:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18067139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitlesshea/pseuds/caitlesshea
Summary: Michael wishes, not for the first time, that he could’ve brought Alex here. That he could tell Alex everything. Show Alex the only thing besides Alex himself that has ever felt like home.





	The Alien's out of the Pod.

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot wait to see the pods in the next episode! I've been *slightly* obsessed with the idea of Michael showing Alex the pods since the first episode.

Michael hasn’t been to see the pods in a while. He realizes as he walks up to them that he’s missed them. He used to come out here all the time, when things got too bad and the noise in his head was too much to deal with. But lately, it seems, he can’t even muster up the energy to come here.

 

He puts his left hand on top of his pod. Even though he knows they’re here for something,  _ anything _ , to help Isobel, he can’t help but caress it lightly. He looks down at his scarred hand and has to stop the emotions from overwhelming him. He wishes, not for the first time, that he could’ve brought Alex here. That he could tell Alex everything. Show Alex the only thing besides Alex himself that has ever felt like home. 

 

“Michael?” Max’s question breaking him out of his maudlin thoughts. 

 

“Shit. Sorry. Okay. You think we can take samples from them? I’ve never tried before.” He reaches down for the tools he brought but before he can stand back up Max is standing in front of him. Max is still touching his own pod but he’s moved closer to Michael.  _ Glad he’s not the only one who can’t stop touching them.  _

 

Michael stands, slightly wary. He tilts his head at Max in question. Max clears his throat.

 

“I really am sorry. About using Alex to get to you.”

 

Michael freezes and his left hand instinctively twitches as he leans on his pod.

 

He shrugs.

 

“Would you have told him?” 

 

He takes a minute to answer. He wants to say  _ no _ he wouldn’t have told him. If only to protect the other people that he loves. But he knows that’s not true.

 

“Back then. Probably not. By the time anything really happened it was already too late. We were too messed up. But lately, well…yes. I’ve wanted to tell him.”

 

“Lately?”

 

“Yeah, man. Since he’s been back. I mean...not recently. Since we’re...fighting. I think? Who knows.” He shrugs it off, trying to be nonchalant.

 

“I had no idea.”

 

“What? That this wasn’t just some high school fling?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It wasn’t even a fling in high school. It was an all in kinda thing. Then everything went to shit and he went to war.”

 

“But you kept in touch?” He nods at Max’s question. Max seems to be coming to some conclusions if the light bulb like look that he’s sporting is any indication.

 

“The random weekend trips you took?”

 

“Yeah. When he was on leave.”

 

“And the weekend’s where you told me and Isobel that you’d hurt us if we came near your place…”

 

“Yeah. He was home those weekends.”

 

“But not lately?”

 

“No. I didn’t even know he was injured until he showed up with the Air Force in tow to take the ranch.”

 

“Damn...why not?”

 

“We got into it. Before his last deployment. Didn’t end well.” He shrugs again. That hurt just as much as finding out Alex had lost his leg. That Alex didn’t want him to know. That Alex kept it from him. No wonder they couldn’t get their shit together. 

 

“Why did he leave after high school?”

 

“His dad…”

 

“What happened?”

 

“He says it was to protect us. I don’t know. I was so fucked up after that night. It was just one thing after another. And he knew it. Thought it was his fault. I didn’t try to stop him…” He trails off, choking on the words. If there’s one thing he regrets, it’s that he didn’t try to stop Alex. Didn’t try to stand up to his dad. 

 

“Protect you…your hand?”

 

Michael nods.

 

“What did he do?”

 

“He caught us, that day. And...well...long story short I dragged him off of Alex and he took a hammer to my hand.” 

 

“Jesus.” Michael looks up at Max finally and sees that all the blood has drained from his face. 

 

“All good man.”

 

“Dammit, Michael. No it isn’t. I should’ve healed you. I should’ve asked you what happened. I knew you were lying to Isobel and I didn’t do anything to help you.” 

 

“Max.” He says a little choked up. “It’s okay.”

 

“It’s  _ not  _ okay.”

 

“Well...it’s water under the bridge now.” 

 

“Michael.”

 

“Look. I really can’t unpack all of this right now. So can we please just finish what we came here for?” He gestures to the pods. Max nods his head. They’re silent for a few moments while they pull out the rest of the tools. 

 

“Why are you fighting now?”

 

He sighs, loudly. He knew bringing that up would come back to bite him in the ass. Max can’t ever let anything go. He runs his fingers through his unruly hair and tugs on a curl. 

 

“The usual. Disappointed in my life choices. I’m a criminal. Daddy says we shouldn’t be together.” He shrugs. 

 

“Michael…”

 

“Look, man. We didn’t come out here to talk about Alex or Liz.” He looks at Max pointedly.

 

“You’re right.”

 

“I know.” He laughs and shoves Max a little. Max smiles at him and he’s transported back to a time when they were closer. It’s not much, yet, in the way of friendship. But it’s a start.

 

**~~~**

 

Michael drops down onto his bed with a heavy sigh. He feels like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Bringing Liz and Kyle samples from the pods and working with them until the wee hours of the morning is enough to have his body feeling like lead. And they’re still no closer to helping Isobel. 

 

He’s about to just close his eyes and sleep completely clothed when there’s a knock at his door. He groans. He has to be back at the lab in a couple of hours after the samples have had time to mature. Maybe whoever is knocking will go away if he ignores it.

 

_ No such luck.  _ The mystery person knocks again. He practically falls out of his bed as he walks on uneven legs to get to the door. He doesn’t bother looking to see who it is on the other side when he swings it open with force. 

 

“Shit.” Alex says as he backs away from the door.  _ Of course.  _

 

“Alex.” He’s glaring at the other man, who Michael notices is almost bouncing in place. Like he’s got too much pent up energy. 

 

“You okay?” He asks Alex.

 

“Yeah. Sorry. Can we talk?” Alex seems to settle as he takes in Michael’s appearance.

 

Michael doesn’t have anything left to lose so he steps aside to let Alex in. He notices that Alex isn’t using his crutch.

 

“No crutch?” 

 

“Yeah. That’s a funny story.”

 

Michael raises an eyebrow at him as Alex settles on his bed.

 

“Later.” 

 

“So...you wanted to talk?”

 

It’s then that Michael notices the backpack that Alex has slung on one shoulder. Alex pulls out a folder and hands it to Michael.  _ Nothing good can come from this. _

 

He opens the folder and sees a picture of himself and the labels “terrorist” and “threat level:red” and “murder of three girls” jump out at him. While the  _ murder _ one has some truth to it, the rest is just laughable. There’s only one place Alex could’ve gotten this information though, so he decides to play along.

 

“Master Sergeant Manes is really doing the most. Isn’t he?” 

 

“How did you?”

 

“Terrorist. Alex. Really? No one else would do this.” He throws the folder back at Alex and scoffs. 

 

“You’re not surprised he has files on you?” 

 

“No. Are you?” He glares at Alex who looks up at him and shakes his head  _ no.  _

 

“It says that you’re suspected of killing three girls. Rosa and her friends…”

 

“Yeah, I saw that. Would’ve been kind of hard to do with one hand, though.” 

 

Alex flinches.  _ Good.  _ He sighs. He doesn’t want to ask, but it seems he can’t help himself when it comes to Alex.

 

“Do you believe that?” 

 

“No.” 

 

He peers at Alex, who keeps playing with his hands. A sure sign that there’s something else going on. 

 

“What is it?”

 

“He...said some things. After he showed this to me.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“Just...some things. About you...I didn’t appreciate them. So I hit him with my crutch.”

 

“No shit?” 

 

Alex nods. “Felt good.”

 

“I bet.”

 

“Before that happened he said that there are aliens in Roswell. And that they suspect you’re one of them.”

 

_ Huh.  _ Well he wasn’t expecting that to be honest. Alex then pulls out a piece of glass from his backpack and hands it to Michael.

 

Michael’s shocked. He didn’t know that there were any other pieces. He thought he had the only one.

 

“Where did you get this?” 

 

“My cabin. It was hidden in a wall. With everything my dad was saying, and then Mimi, and even Kyle, it just started to add up.”

 

“Kyle? Valenti?”

 

“Yeah. He’s been...working with my dad. He says he’s helping Liz, but I don’t know with what.”

 

Michael takes a second to process all of that. Kyle working with Alex’s dad. Working with the military. To help Liz. Something that was  _ not _ mentioned to him earlier when he was with them. Looks like there’s still more secrets to uncover. Something he very much wants to deal with, but not right now.

 

“What is it?” Alex asks him as he points to the glass Michael’s still holding. Michael’s always felt that his life, and these moments in his life, were out of his control. He very rarely felt  _ in control. _ But maybe for once, he could take some of it back. And that started with Alex.

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

“Yes.” Alex said instinctively. Michael nods and hands the glass piece back to Alex. He pulls a box out from under a cabinet while Alex waits patiently.

 

He takes his piece of glass and runs his fingers over it, watching it light up and glow with the movement. He’s never shown anyone this piece before. Not even Max or Isobel. 

 

He hands the glass to Alex and lets out a breath.

 

“Well the alien’s out of the pod now.” 

 

Alex’s lips quirk into a smile and he shakes his head. 

 

“They’re pieces from the ship that brought us here. The UFO Crash in 1947.”

 

“Pieces of the ship…” Alex whispers and then he whips his head up. “I’m sorry. Come again? The ship that brought  _ you _ here?”

 

“Uh yeah...me, Max, and Isobel.”

 

Alex tilts his head to the side and wets his lips. Michael has to remember to breathe normally for a moment. 

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Yes. Okay. Why don’t you start at the beginning.” Alex pats the bed next to him gesturing for Michael to sit down.

 

So Michael starts. And once he starts he can’t seem to stop. He tells him about waking up in the pods, wandering the desert alone with Max and Isobel. About the group homes, and his foster homes. About the desert when they were fourteen, when Isobel was attacked. He tells him about how he discovered that acetone helps with pain, and how they realized they had powers. He tells him about Rosa, and everything that’s happened since that fateful night ten years ago. At some point during his marathon speech, Alex grabbed his left hand and started rubbing the scarred flesh. When he finishes, he can feel Alex wipe the tears from his cheeks that he didn’t even realize he was crying.

 

“The Evans’ really didn’t adopt you? What assholes.”

 

Michael can’t help it, he laughs, loudly. “That’s what you got from all of that?”

 

Alex shrugs but Michael can see the smile ghosting over his lips. 

 

“That explains everything Kyle and my dad are doing. And Liz. You didn’t know Kyle was helping my dad?”

 

“No. I didn’t know your dad was doing anything.” Alex hums in response. 

 

“We’ll have to figure out how to deal with that. I can’t imagine he’s going to be to thrilled that I hit him over the head.”

 

“We’ll?”

 

“Yes, me and you. Max too, I assume. And I’m definitely speaking with Kyle about this.”

 

“You’re not...you want...you want to help us?”

 

Alex turns to look at him, and once again Michael feels like he can’t breathe. He’s giving Michael a soft smile, that Michael once thought was only reserved for him. He wasn’t wrong.

 

“Of course I do. You didn’t think I’d really help my dad did you?”

 

Michael shrugs in response. How could he not have thought that? The way things ended at the drive-in a couple of weeks ago had felt so final.

 

“I’m sorry. About the things I said at the drive-in. About a lot of things I know we still have to talk about.” Alex pulls Michael’s face around to look at him. Michael feels, more than sees, Alex lean in to kiss him. Alex places a soft kiss on his lips and leans his forehead against Michael’s. 

 

“I’m sorry, okay?”

 

“I am, too.” And he is. Michael can stick the blame on Alex solely, all he wants, but that doesn’t make it true. 

 

“I’m not avoiding talking about  _ us. _ But I think this might be more pressing?” Alex gives him his piece of glass back. Michael nods, because he’s right. Isobel is sick and they don’t know why. Jesse Manes has files on them, and is actively hunting them down. But before Michael can even process all of that, he has one last thing he  _ needs _ to do.

 

“Can I show you something?”

 

“Anything.”

 

“We’ll have to go for a ride.”

 

“Alright, cowboy. Let’s go.”

 

**~~~**

 

They make it out to the turquoise mines with relative ease. It’s been a while since they’ve driven out into the desert just the two of them. The company and conversation are never a problem. He can almost forget all of the other pressing matters going on when it’s just the two of them. 

 

“Are you going to be able to get over the rocks?” Michael hadn’t thought this entirely through, when he asked Alex to come out here with him.

 

“I should be okay.” Michael nods and they set out towards the cave where the pods are. Alex slips a couple of times and Michael rights him with his powers. Which causes Alex to laugh every time. Michael can’t help the smile that graces his lips every time Alex asks another question. He feels lighter than he ever has.

 

They get to the cave and Michael moves the boarded up door with his powers just to hear Alex laugh again.  _ So he’s showing off, sue him. _

 

“Are you finally going to tell me why we’re in a creepy cave in the desert?”

 

“Figured it was easier to just show you.”

 

They make their way into the cave and he can tell the exact moment Alex notices the pods when he gasps.

 

“Your pods?”

 

“Yeah.” Michael watches Alex walk up to them, a look of complete awe on his face. He never knew he  _ needed _ Alex to see this part of him before, until he takes in the kid like wonder on his face. 

 

Without knowing, Alex walks right up to Michael’s pod and reaches out to touch it. Before his hand makes contact he looks over his shoulder at Michael.

 

“Can I?”

 

“Go ahead.” 

 

Alex puts his hand on the pod,  _ Michael’s pod, _ and Michael swears he can feel his touch in his bones. He gasps.

 

“Wow…” Alex turns to look at him again. “What?”

 

“That one’s mine.” Alex smiles at him and grabs Michael’s left hand and puts it on the pod.

 

He caresses his pod, similar to earlier when he was here, but this time, Alex’s fingers intertwine with his and they hold hands on top of his pod. Alex leans over and kisses him again. When they break apart Michael has tears in his eyes, and so does Alex.

 

“Thank you for showing me.”

 

“Thank you for letting me, sweetheart.” Michael only realizing that the endearment slipped out after Alex’s gasp. It’s been so long since he’s said it, but it felt as natural as breathing. He loves the blush that starts to rise on Alex’s neck and cheeks. 

 

Michael reaches up with his left hand and grasps Alex’s face and pulls him into a kiss. He feels Alex’s fingers tangling in his curls and he can’t help the moan that escapes his mouth. When they break apart he notices that both he and Alex are flushed and pressed together. And that they both still have one hand on the pod. He looks down at their hands and smiles. 

 

“You can’t stop touching it either?”

 

“No. I usually can’t when I’m here. I’m surprised it’s having a similar effect on you though.” 

 

“It feels like you.” Alex blushes again and ducks his head.

 

“Really?” 

 

“Yeah. You never noticed?”

 

“No. It just feels like home.”

 

Michael slams his mouth shut. Now he’s the one blushing.

 

“You’ve always felt that way to me, Michael.” Michael gasps. He hasn’t heard his first name from Alex’s lips in over a decade. Alex must realize what he said because his eyes go soft and a small smile graces his lips.

 

“You’ve always felt like home to me too, Alex.” Michael whispers and closes the distance once more to kiss him. He can feel Alex smile into the kiss before he kisses him back, both hands grabbing his curls. He cups Alex’s face with both hands and smiles back. 

 

He feels an echo in the back of his mind, a voice that sounds like Alex.  _ Home can be a person.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come find me on Tumblr - same username.


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